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The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today warned of heightened risk to journalists in the West Bank after Israeli the security forces disguised themselves as journalists to arrest Omar Kswani, a university student on 7 March.

Kiswani is head of the student council at Birzeit university and is believed to have been arrested for his political affiliation to the Hamas group, which is banned under Israeli law.

Video footage shows Kiswani being kicked and escorted by three men with one holding him in a headlock while others fire shots, endangering the well-being of all students and civilians. The scene happened in broad daylight during working hours.

The IFJ today joined its affiliate, the Palestinian Journalists’ Union (PJS), in condemning the tactic used by the Israeli forces of disguised themselves as journalists which adds another layer of threats to work of journalists in the region.

“We condemn this action and call on Israeli authorities to refrain from using journalism as a cover for its security forces that endangers the profession, constitutes a violation of freedom of the press and increases threats facing local and international journalists working in the area,” said IFJ General Secretary, Anthony Bellanger.

ABOUT IFJ

The International Federation of Journalists is the world's largest organisation of journalists. First established as the Fédération Internationale des Journalistes (FIJ) in 1926 in Paris, it was relaunched as the International Organization of Journalists (IOJ) in 1946, but lost its Western members to the Cold War and re-emerged in its present form in 1952 in Brussels. Today the Federation represents around 600.000 members in more than 140 countries across the world. The IFJ promotes international action to defend press freedom and social justice through strong, free and independent trade unions of journalists.